


After Earth

by Sarahastro



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Episode Related, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-23
Updated: 2013-07-23
Packaged: 2017-12-21 00:13:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/893544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarahastro/pseuds/Sarahastro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Somehow, after all that has happened, the survivors have managed to make a new world here. It is just not a world that she can be part of. Her place is on Enterprise, with Trip and Malcolm, keeping watch.</i>
</p>
<p>Hoshi's life on Enterprise after Earth's destruction. Takes place in the AU introduced in the Season 3 episode "Twilight."</p>
            </blockquote>





	After Earth

**Author's Note:**

> Star Trek: Enterprise was created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga and is the property of CBS Broadcasting, Inc. and Paramount Pictures Corporation. This story takes place in the AU introduced in the Season 3 episode "Twilight," which was written by the fantastic Mike Sussman. "Twilight" is one of my favorite episodes, and it made me wonder what life was like for Trip, Malcolm, and Hoshi on Enterprise during the nine years they protected the Ceti Alpha V colony. This is my attempt to answer that question.
> 
> This story was also inspired by Ronald D. Moore's reimagining of Battlestar Galactica. There aren't any overt references to BSG in this story (I think... my subconscious might have slipped some in), but I watched BSG to get ideas about how Trip, Malcolm, and Hoshi might feel about being in charge of protecting the last surviving humans. In particular, I drew upon the episodes "Lay Down Your Burdens," written by Ronald D. Moore (Part 1) and by Anne Cofell Saunders and Mark Verheiden (Part 2), and "Unfinished Business," written by Michael Taylor.

Keeping morale up is not easy, so Trip encourages the crew to celebrate every little victory and milestone. Promotions mean a drink with the captain. Tonight it is with Malcolm and Hoshi. Malcolm has been promoted to captain of the Intrepid, and Trip has made Hoshi his new first officer. He could do this with them one at a time, but it is nice for the three of them to have some time together. Out of the original senior staff under Captain Archer, they are the last three.

Hoshi is not much of a drinker. She is content just to swirl her small glass while they talk. Malcolm takes a sip of his and makes a face. "This batch is even worse than the last. I'm not sure it deserves to be called whiskey."

Trip drains his glass and pours himself another. "Best I could do." Hoshi and Malcolm exchange a brief look but neither comments. Nine years as captain have changed him. Gone are the boyish smile and the twinkle in his eyes. If he needs a drink or two to sleep at night, they are not going to criticize him. Since the day T'Pol resigned her commission, he has been completely dedicated to Enterprise.

"So when are you officially leaving us?" Trip asks.

"Six weeks. Captain Ramirez wanted to stay until the repairs are complete."

"Then you'll still be on board when Phlox gets here," Hoshi says.

"How are the plans coming for Captain Archer's reception?" Trip asks.

"I talked to Chef about the menu," Hoshi says, "and he said he'd do his best with what we have, but we're running low on supplies. The harvest this year wasn't very good. But the crew is very excited."

"What about the supplies for Phlox's procedure?"

"He's bringing almost everything with him," Malcolm says, "except for a few things we have on board. But Lieutenant Marcel says that we'll need to go on reserve power until he gets here in order to ensure that we have enough antimatter."

Trip frowns. "How much is this procedure going to take?"

"About 40% of our reserves. But we've been in contact with Hess, and she's had the reactor working overtime. They'll be able to resupply us a week ahead of schedule."

"How is Hess these days?" Trip asks.

"Pregnant again," Hoshi says.

Trip smiles. "Seems like she and Josh are trying to repopulate the human race all by themselves."

"Well I guess someone has to." As soon as the words leave her mouth and she sees Trip and Malcolm's smiles fade, she wishes she could take them back. None of them need to be reminded of the sacrifices they have had to make. She tries to think of a way to shift the conversation back to neutral territory. "So have you decided who's going to take over as second officer?" Hoshi asks. "Or are you two still fighting over officers?"

"Foster. Malcolm's taking Hutchison over to the Intrepid to be second officer and helsman over there, and Foster will be armory officer and second officer here." He shakes his head. "It'll be hard to see Hutchison leave. He's been on board since the beginning, but I just couldn't promote him over Foster. Plus we need Foster here with Malcolm deserting us."

"I would hardly say I'm deserting you," Malcolm says. "I'll still be watching your back, just from the Intrepid."

"Yeah well, it won't be the same here without you," Trip says. He raises his glass. "To Captain Malcolm Reed, the newest captain in Starfleet. And to Commander Hoshi Sato, Enterprise's new first officer."

"The promotions don't go into effect for another six weeks," Malcolm reminds them.

"Too bad," Hoshi says. "I can't wait to be Commander Sato."

Trip smiles fondly at her. "I remember how you used to jump every time we went to warp. And now look at you. You'll be captain yourself someday."

Later in her cabin, Hoshi thinks more about what Trip said. She never saw herself as a leader, never dreamed of being captain of a starship, but in a few weeks she'll be the first officer of Starfleet's flagship. She probably is next in line to be promoted to captain, although it could be many years before there is an opening. They can't exactly construct new ships anymore.

She thinks about the day Trip promoted her to second officer. They had just arrived at Ceti Alpha V, and she assumed he would go down to the surface to scout for colony sites. But instead T'Pol went and Trip met with the civilian leaders in the ready room. Afterwards he called her and Malcolm in.

"T'Pol resigned her commission," he said without preamble. "I'll be taking over as captain. Malcolm, I'm promoting you to commander. You'll be the first officer. Hoshi, I'd like to promote you to lieutenant and make you second officer."

"Me sir?" Hoshi asked. "I'm not really qualified for that position."

"You've been a bridge officer for five years," he said. "There's no one else with more experience."

"I'm only an ensign. What about Lieutenant Hess or Lieutenant Foster?"

"Hess will be replacing me as chief engineer, and I need her down in the engine room full time. And you know the ship's systems and crew a hell of a lot better than Foster." He smiled at her, but it was just a shadow of his old cheerful grin. "Besides I think it's about time you got a promotion."

Being second officer is not as hard as she had feared. They are not explorers anymore and there are not any away missions, so she rarely has to take command of the bridge except for when it is her turn to take the night watch. She is the science officer too, but that is a fairly low time commitment. Most of the science staff have relocated to the planet, leaving just a handful of crewmen who monitor and upgrade the sensors. There is a lot of turnover - no one wants to leave the planet just to man the sensors for more than a year or two - so she spends a fair amount of time training new crewmen. Sometimes she tweaks the Universal Translator, but without new languages to add there is not much more she can do with it. 

Most of her duties as second officer are administrative. She oversees the crew evaluations and keeps track of personnel transfers, and she puts together the duty roster every day. Some of these are technically the first officer's responsibility, but Malcolm is so busy with his duties in the armory it makes sense for Hoshi to take over some of them. She and Malcolm have divided up the tasks pretty naturally: Malcolm takes care of the ship and the weapons, and Hoshi takes care of the crew and Trip.

The first time she had to take care of him was the day T'Pol and Archer left. By that point Trip had already effectively been in command for several weeks, but they waited to make the official hand-off until the day she and Archer departed Enterprise for good. The entire crew lined up outside the airlock, and there were handshakes and hugs and best wishes even though everyone knew Archer would not remember in a few hours. It was an exhausting day, and Hoshi was looking forward to going to bed early, but just as she was about to fall asleep her door buzzed. She rolled out of bed and opened the door. "Captain? Is everything okay?"

Trip was leaning against the door frame. At first she thought he was just tired, but when he opened his mouth she realized he was drunk. "Hey Hoshi," he said, much too loudly for the late hour. "I was just wondering what you were up to."

She winced and checked the hallway to make sure all of the other doors were still closed. "Uh Captain, maybe you should come inside."

"Thanks." He wobbled a little as he entered and leaned on the wall to support himself. "I've never been in your quarters before. Cozy. Kinda small, but you're pretty small too."

She tried not to giggle. "Yeah that helps." She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Actually, I'm moving tomorrow. I'm taking T'Pol's old quarters."

Trip's smile looked more like a grimace. "Ah yeah T'Pol's quarters. I've been there a few times. They're nice. Roomier than this."

Hoshi was aware of the rumors about Trip and T'Pol, but the pained look on his face kept her from asking him about it. Instead she asked, "Are you going to move into Captain Archer's old quarters?"

The grimace became a scowl. "Those are the captain's quarters."

"You're the captain now," she reminded him.

"They're Captain Archer's quarters," he said. "It wouldn't be right." He sank down on the bed next to her. "Besides now we'll all be neighbors. You, me, Malcolm... we'll all be on B deck." He paused, then said, "We should have dinner tomorrow night." She gaped at him, but he continued, oblivious to her shocked expression, "You, me, and Malcolm. Captain Archer used to have dinner with me and T'Pol all the time."

"Well I wouldn't want you to get lonely in the captain's mess," she said.

He was still smiling, but the look in his eyes was sad. "It's lonely at the top," he said. "That's what Captain Archer used to say." He tilted over and lay on his side. "I never really understood that. I mean he had me and T'Pol. And you and Archer have been friends since before Enterprise, right?"

She nodded. "We met when I was at STC."

"But he was right," Trip said. "It is lonely, knowing that you're the one who's got to make all the tough decisions."

She reached out and touched his shoulder. "You have Malcolm and me," she said.

"Yeah," he said with a small smile, "I've got you and Malcolm."

After Trip fell asleep, she called Malcolm for help, but once he arrived she wondered whether that had been the best idea. Malcolm stared at Trip, then back at Hoshi, a look of shock on his face. She crossed her arms defensively. "It's not what you think."

"Oh really? So then what exactly is the captain doing passed out in your bed reeking of bourbon?"

"He just showed up at my quarters drunk," she said. "We talked for a while. He wanted another drink but I talked him out of it. Then he passed out."

"Should we call sickbay?" Malcolm asked.

If Phlox had still been in sickbay, she would not have hesitated to call him, but Phlox was down on the planet helping to set up the hospital. The only person in sickbay was a crewman who would probably be scandalized to see the captain passed out drunk. "I think he just needs to sleep it off," Hoshi said. "Do you think we can get him back to his quarters?"

"Not with just the two of us. We'd need at least one more person to help. I could call Lieutenant Foster or Major Hayes."

"No," Hoshi said, "I don't think we should let anyone else see him like this. It's okay. I'll just sleep on the floor."

Malcolm looked decidedly uncomfortable with the whole situation. "Are you sure?"

Hoshi nodded. "I'll take care of him."

Trip was gone when she woke up, but he invited her to the captain's dining hall that morning and apologized over breakfast. He never showed up at her cabin drunk again, but after that Hoshi knew she needed to keep an eye on him. She makes sure that he takes time to eat and gets enough sleep. She reminds him to see the doctor regularly and to take his days off. She does those things for Malcolm too, but Malcolm is slightly better at taking care of himself. Trip is the one who has to be coaxed and threatened to leave the bridge and engineering and go back to his quarters at the end of the day. At first it made her a little uncomfortable, but now it is just part of her routine. It is the closest thing to a relationship either of them have had in years.

For the first two years after they arrived at Ceti Alpha V, she was involved with a civilian, but he finally ended things after she kept refusing to resign her commission and leave Enterprise. That was her turn to show up at Trip's quarters late at night. When he saw the look on her face, he let her in without a word and poured both of them a glass of whiskey. She downed hers in one gulp with a grimace and handed her glass back to him. He refilled it and sat next to her on the bed. "Why don't you tell me what's going on before you toss this one back?"

So she told him the whole sad story, about how Sam had asked her again when she was going to move down to the surface permanently, and how she had told him she just could not leave Enterprise. "He said he was tired of waiting around, and that he didn't think I would ever leave. And then he accused me of being in love with you."

Trip's mouth opened in disbelief, and he struggled to think of something to say. "Uh, Hoshi, I --"

"I'm not," she interrupted. "He just doesn't understand. I told him that you need me, and then he said that I'm just a linguist and you could find someone else to be second officer. I told him it's more than just that, you need me to take care of you. You and Malcolm and the crew -- who would arrange movie night or make sure Malcolm eats every day or force you to get some sleep every night?"

Trip looked sad and a little guilty. "Hoshi, you know how much we appreciate all the things you do. But we could get along all right without you. I'd hate to think we're keeping you from having a life of your own."

She shook her head and drained the glass. "You need me," she repeated. "It's nice to be needed. I always thought I'd be an academic, you know, teach classes and do research. Even when I joined Starfleet and signed on to Enterprise, I thought I'd just spend a couple of years out in deep space and then go back to Earth and teach. And then the Xindi attacked -- " Trip flinched a little. Even after so many years, they tried to avoid talking about Earth. "What Enterprise is doing is so important," she said, "protecting humanity. And I'm not a strategist or a weapons expert or an engineer. I can't fix the ship or fight off the Xindi. But I can keep the crew going."

She does not remember much after that until she woke the next morning in her own quarters, fully dressed and laid on top of the blanket. From the awkward looks Malcolm gave her, she thinks he probably had to help Trip get her back to her quarters, but he did not say anything. The closest he came to mentioning it was about a year later, just before the annual celebration of their arrival at Ceti Alpha.

"I just don't want to go," she told Malcolm one night as they went over personnel reports in the mess. "Trip should go, he's the captain, and he's the one they really want there."

Malcolm shook his head. "I don't understand. We both assumed you would want to go. You've spent more time down there than either one of us, and you're the one in contact with the civilian government."

"I haven't been down there in a while," she said. "I haven't had much of a reason." He nodded and gave her a sad smile, and she knew he understood. "Anyway, doesn't it seem kind of strange to you? We're up here fighting the Xindi every day, while down on the surface they're arguing about where to build the new school and whether they should plant more corn or potatoes."

Malcolm shrugged. "What do you expect them to do?"

"It's just... what if the Xindi find us?" she asked. "What's the point of building schools and planting crops when the Xindi are still out there, looking for us?"

"Even if they do, that might not happen for decades, or even hundreds of years," Malcolm said. "And things might have changed by then. Perhaps General Shran will succeed in convincing the Andorians to help us. Or perhaps the Xindi will decide we don't pose a threat anymore and leave us alone."

"Somehow I don't think that's very likely," Hoshi said.

"Maybe not," Malcolm agreed. "But it doesn't mean we can't enjoy what we have while it lasts."

Most people would not consider Malcolm a very comforting person, but she thinks about what he said often. It has been almost twelve years since their homeworld was destroyed, but down on the planet, there are farms and houses, a school and factories. There are children who do not even remember Earth, who have only ever called Ceti Alpha V home. Somehow, after all that has happened, the survivors have managed to make a new world here. It is just not a world that she can be part of. Her place is on Enterprise, with Trip and Malcolm, keeping watch.

*****

The reception is as awkward as Hoshi had worried. Archer is obviously overwhelmed by the whole thing. All of the old crew crowds around him, wanting to say hello, but Archer struggles to connect them to the people he remembers from twelve years ago. Hoshi tries to keep on eye on him while she talks to Phlox.

"So you'll be taking over as first officer when Commander Reed gets his promotion," Phlox says.

"Yes. It shouldn't be too different from what I'm doing now," she says. "Malcolm has been familiarizing me with the ship's operations for the past month, and I've already been taking care of all of the personnel-related tasks."

"I'm very impressed," he says. "The young ensign I met on our first mission wouldn't have been able to handle being first officer on board a starship."

She smiles a little at the memory. "I've had fourteen years of active duty since then," she says.

"I always assumed you would move down to the colony. Perhaps resume teaching."

"I thought about it a few times," she admits, "but I'm needed here." She looks over to where Archer is talking to Trip. They both look uncomfortable. "Doctor, would you excuse me?"

He follows her gaze and nods. "Of course. I need to head to engineering anyway to make sure everything is ready for the procedure."

She makes her way over to them just in time to hear Archer ask, "So is Travis around? Or is he on duty?"

Trip's silence is enough of an answer, and Archer's smile fades.

"He was killed a few months after you were injured," Hoshi says.

After Trip excuses himself back to the bridge, Hoshi does her best to make small-talk with Archer, but then some of the crew come up to say hello, and she talks to T'Pol for a while, and then she realizes that at some point Archer slipped away without anyone noticing.

"I'll go and find him," she offers, but T'Pol shakes her head.

"You have duties on Enterprise. Jonathan is my responsibility. I will locate him."

It is a relief to return to the bridge and take her place at the communications station. Seeing Archer is painful, but seeing T'Pol is bizarre. Nine years as Archer's caretaker have made her a completely different person. Hoshi knows she should have expected this, but it is still hard to see. The last time T'Pol was on Enterprise, she was the captain; now Hoshi is the one who's place is on the bridge, and T'Pol is wandering the corridors searching for a lost passenger.

She is not sure when she saw last Archer and T'Pol, but it was probably a year or so after she ended her relationship with Sam. At first she visited them whenever she had leave, but eventually she stopped going. Once she considered Archer a friend and mentor, but twelve years have made her a stranger to him. When she first took over as science officer, she wrote T'Pol regularly to tell her what was happening on Enterprise, but after a couple of years she realized that T'Pol was not really interested anymore. T'Pol's daily concerns revolve around caring for Archer and contributing to the colony. What is the point in telling either of them about the new crew members or the latest sensor upgrades? Enterprise moved on without them, and T'Pol built a new life with Archer.

It is easier to throw herself into her duties than dwell on the past. There is plenty for her to do today during her duty shift. Any ships coming in or out of the system, even any incoming or outgoing messages, put the fleet on high alert. Nothing is more important than hiding their location.

The first signal is so faint Hoshi almost dismisses it as a sensor glitch. But no matter what she tries, it persists, a faint power excess near the sun. Malcolm targets the armory sensors on the same region. "I'm picking up an intermittant duranium signature," he says.

"Is it a ship?" Trip asks.

"I'm not certain," Malcolm admits. "It's in a close orbit around the sun."

"We better check it out." He nods at Hutchison. "Lay in a course."

It does not take long for the alien ship to come into view. "There's a small vessel," Malcolm says, "just outside the chromosphere."

"Is it Xindi?" Trip asks.

Malcolm shakes his head. "The hull configuration doesn't match. There's one biosign on board."

"Open a channel." His voice is calm but he is pacing as he says, "This is Captain Charles Tucker. Is there something we can help you with?"

There is no response. As Hoshi checks to make sure the message was received, her console lights up with warnings. "He's moving," she says.

It is a small ship, not very sophisticated, and Enterprise easily disables the engines before it can jump to warp. They bring the ship inside the launch bay, and Trip and Malcolm leave to interrogate the pilot. Even though Hoshi is now in command of the bridge, she keeps her seat at the comm station. It is much easier for her to work from there, plus the captain's chair is too big for her, and when she sits in it, she always feels like she is about to slide onto the floor.

It does not take long for her to find the ship's schematics and the pilot's biosigns in the Vulcan database - he is Yridian, a species known as information dealers. They do not have enough power to go to tactical alert while Phlox is performing Archer's procedure, but Hoshi orders everyone to their stations anyway. It has been a long time since there has been an unexpected ship in the system, and the crew is already on edge. Hoshi tries to stay calm, but when she sees that Trip has ordered the ship to go to full power, she knows the Xindi are coming.

"What's our status?" Malcolm asks as he exits the turbolift.

"The fleet has been mobilized and is patrolling the system. So far no other ships have been reported in the area."

"Hutchison, take us further out, towards the edge of the system. Foster, continue scanning for Xindi ships." He pauses for a second, even though everyone knows what his orders mean. "Sato, contact the fleet and tell them the Xindi may be on the way."

It does not take long to get the confirmation they are all dreading. "Sir, one of our sentry probes is reporting ships in the area heading this way," Hoshi says.

Malcolm nods. "Tell Captain Tucker to get up here, and then notify the rest of the fleet. Foster, get down to the armory and ready the weapons."

By the time Trip gets back up to the bridge, the news has gone from bad to worse. "I'm getting a signal from one of our sentry probes," she says. "Six Xindi ships have entered the system."

Trip's face is a mask, but she knows that he is scared. They all are.

"Contact the colony," he says. "Tell them to start evacuating people to the shelters. Then contact the fleet." Quickly, he outlines his plan, one of the many maneuvers they have rehearsed over the years. As the Xindi ships head towards the colony, Enterprise lures two of them away from the others towards Ceti Alpha VI where the Intrepid and Apollo are hiding behind the moon. The Xindi ships do not even have time to fire before they have been disabled them. But there are still four Xindi ships left.

They have had nine years to prepare and train for this, but even with upgraded weapons and Andorian shields, it does not take long for the Xindi to overpower them. Apollo is the first to be disabled, drifting helplessly on the other side of Ceti Alpha VI. Intrepid tries to draw some of the fire away, and two Xindi ships break off from Apollo to attack, swerving too close and erratically for them to get a clear shot.

"Intrepid has taken a direct hit," Hoshi says. "They've lost their port nacelle."

"Tell them to withdraw," Trip says.

The remaining ships are only too happy to shift their attention to Enterprise, and the ship shakes under the assault. Hoshi realizes that she is counting the hits, like a child counting lightning strikes. Two... three... "Phase cannons are down," Malcolm says. Four... five... "Our forward shield's collapsing," he yells over the alarms.

The damage is piling up faster than she can report. "Hull breaches on B deck, C deck," Hoshi says.

Trip doesn't respond, just grips his chair as the ship shakes. Without weapons or shields there is not much else they can do. Six... seven...

"They're targeting the bridge!" It is one of the only times Hoshi has heard panic in Malcolm's voice, and her head snaps over to look at him and Trip.

Trip's expression is pure determination. "Hard to port," he orders.

Hutchison's fingers are flying over the controls, and the ship twists but not fast enough. Eight... the helm explodes in Hutchison's face. Trip pulls him out of the chair, but there is not even enough left of the helm to make course corrections. Nine... ten... The shots are coming too fast for Hoshi to count now.

And then the bridge explodes.


End file.
